Schedule
of Classes and Course Descriptions |
||||
| Course
Number |
Course
Name |
Instructor |
Day
and Time |
Location |
| 101.001 |
Intro
to Phil Problems |
Mary
Domski |
TR
9:30-10:45 |
M
H 122 |
In this course, we will survey several problems that continue to motivate philosophical discussion and philosophical worry. Such problems will include: the problem of evil, the nature of the human soul, the existence of God, the extent of moral responsibility, the possibility and extent of human knowledge, and perhaps most importantly, what it means to lead a good life. The goal of this course is to illuminate fruitful ways of engaging with these philosophical problems, which means we’ll wrestle with hard questions that rarely offer neat and tidy solutions. Be prepared to READ, REFLECT, and WRITE throughout the semester. On average, you should expect to dedicate roughly 4-5 hours each week to the required assignments for this course.
|
||||
| 101.002 |
Intro
to Phil Problems |
John
Taber |
MWF
11:00-11:50 |
M
H 122 |
| 101.003 |
Intro
to Phil Problmes |
Mark
Ralkowski |
TR
8:00-9:15 |
M
H 117 |
| 101.004 |
Intro
to Phil Problems |
Mark
Ralkowski |
MWF
12:00-12:50 |
DSH
125 |
| 101.005 |
Intro
to Phil Problems |
Elly
Van Mil |
MW
5:30-6:45 |
M
H 116 |
| 101.006 |
Intro
to Phil Problems |
Tara
Kennedy |
MWF
10:00-10:50 |
BA-E
105 |
| 101.007 |
Intro
to Phil Problems |
Kristian
Simcox |
MWF
12:00-12:50 |
DSH
226 |
These courses are designed to introduce students to some of the major issues of philosophy and several approaches which philosophers take to deal with them. Questions of value, knowledge, and reality will be included, along with problems that arise in social, political, and religious philosophy. A fundamental aim of the course is to improve one’s ability to think rationally and to make critical judgments.
|
||||
| 101.008 |
Intro
to Phil Problems |
Christian
Wood |
T
4:00-6:30 |
DSH
223 |
This course approaches the introduction to philosophy through key topics, such as Love and Truth, Morality and Civil Disobedience, Same and Other, to name some of the major themes. The philosophers studied are from the Western philosophical tradition, and given that we shall read texts dating from Plato and Socrates to the 20th century, it is historically comprehensive for a beginning philosophy course. One can do well without having taken any previous philosophy courses, but keeping up with the reading is essential to do well on mid-terms and the final. Formal Requirements: 2 mid-terms, a short essay (4-5 pages), and a final examination that is cumulative in nature. Required Reading: There will be a course packet made available during the first week (TBA).
|
||||
| 102.001 |
Current
Moral Problems |
Michael
Candelaria |
MWF
11:00-11:50 |
DSH
325 |
| 102.002 |
Current
Moral Problems |
Lisa
Gerber |
MWF
9:00-9:50 |
M
H 117 |
This course will examine some of the main positions and arguments on such moral issues as abortion, affirmative action, capital punishment, and pornography, together with some of the deeper philosophical problems these issues raise.
|
||||
| 156.001 |
Reasoning
& Crit Thinking |
Phil
Williamson |
TR
8:00-9:15 |
DSH
129 |
| 156.002 |
Reasoning
& Crit Thinking |
Mark
Ralkowski |
MWF
9:00-9:50 |
ORTG
153 |
| 156.003 |
Reasoning
& Crit Thinking |
Stephen
Harris |
MWF
10:00-10:50 |
DSH
233 |
| 156.004/655 |
Reasoning
& Crit Thinking |
Laura
Guerrero |
TR
9:30-10:45 |
M
H 101 |
| 156.005 |
Reasoning
& Crit Thinking |
Rinita
Mazumdar |
MWF
12:00-12:50 |
M
H 211 |
| 156.006 |
Reasoning
& Crit Thinking |
Cole
Raison |
T
R 5:30-6:45 |
DSH
327 |
| 156.008 |
Reasoning
& Crit Thinking |
Ethan
Mills |
TR
12:30-1:45 |
ORTG
241 |
Most intellectual endeavors involve argumentation. From short letters to the editor to complex philosophical essays and from simple everyday discussions to sophisticated legal debates, arguments are constantly invoked to support or criticize points of view. The purpose of this course is to help students learn how to analyze, critique, and construct arguments. (An argument is a piece of reasoning, not a quarrel or a fight.) The course material is organized into two main parts. The first part is an introductory survey of important linguistic and logical concepts and tools that we need for argument analysis. The second (and longer) part is an in-depth examination of a few philosophical essays focused on a small set of closely related questions and issues. (Different sections have different focuses.) Prerequisites: Although no background in philosophy or logic is presupposed, the course requires a moderate degree of linguistic sophistication and a strong commitment to rational inquiry. Basis for grading: Grades will be based on three quizzes, two assignments, a final paper, and attendance. This course is good preparation for almost all philosophy courses and any course that involves critical reading and writing. Texts: Strunk and White, The Elements of Style; Weston, A Rulebook of Argument; "Course Notes" (available from UNM Quick Print Center); and other readings specific to each section.
|
||||
| 201.001 |
Greek
Philosophy |
John
Bussanich |
MWF
12:00-12:50 |
CAST
51 |
This course is an introductory survey of ancient Greek philosophy. We shall study the writings of the Presocratics, Sophists, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and Epicurus. Our goal is to acquire a basic understanding of philosophical problems in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics and the solutions proposed by the most important Greek thinkers. Class time will be devoted to lectures and discussion on the assigned readings. Evaluation will be based on discussion of the readings, short papers, and exams. This section is restricted to Philosophy majors and minors.
|
||||
| 201.003 |
Greek
Philosophy |
Russell
Goodman |
TR
2:00-3:15 |
M
H 101 |
This course is an introductory survey of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. We shall study the writings of the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and the Stoics. Our goal is to acquire a basic understanding of philosophical problems and solutions proposed by the most important Greek and Roman thinkers. Class time will be devoted to lectures and discussion on the assigned readings. Evaluation is based on discussion of the readings, two in-class examinations, and a final. Text: Reeve, et. al., Introductory Readings in Ancient Greek And Roman Philosophy.
|
||||
| 202.001 |
Modern
Philosophy |
Adrian
Johnston |
TR
11:00-12:15 |
BA-E
105 |
In the seventeenth century, René Descartes, the founding figure of modern philosophy (a period in the history of philosophy running from the 1600s to the beginning of the twentieth century), initiated a revolutionary reorientation of Western philosophy by centering intellectual attention on the individual human subject as a knowing being. Descartes' work launched a series of discussions about how we know what we claim to know about the fundamental nature of reality, discussions that continue up through the present. This course will focus primarily on issues pertaining to epistemology (i.e., that part of philosophy concerned with constructing a theory of knowledge) in the modern period, starting with Descartes and concluding with Immanuel Kant (late eighteenth century). In particular, we will occupy ourselves with an exploration of the distinction between the two basic epistemological orientations in modern philosophy, namely, rationalism and empiricism (as well as Kant's attempted resolution of these opposed orientations). Moreover, a series of other related questions and problems will be explored, such as: the relation between mind and body, the essence of personal identity, the role of science as a means of access to reality, and various conceptions of truth. The authors from this period we will read include: Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.
|
||||
| 244.001 |
Intro
to Existentialism |
Iain
Thomson |
TR
11:00-12:15 |
DSH
324 |
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the living tradition of existential philosophy through a careful reading of several of its most famous, difficult, and important philosophical texts. The course will focus on four of existentialism’s classic philosophical works, Kierkegaard’s The Sickness unto Death, Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness, Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and Heidegger’s What Is Called Thinking? We will conclude with my Heidegger on Ontotheology: Technology and the Politics of Education, seeking in this way to understand the living legacy of the still unsettled and sometimes unsettling existential tradition. Course Requirements: There are no formal prerequisites, but this course will require a great deal of difficult but rewarding reading, so class attendance, preparation, and participation will be essential and will be reflected in your grade. To facilitate your digestion of some notoriously esoteric texts and issues, I shall require regular course attendance as well as a comprehensive midterm and final exam, in which you will need to demonstrate your active engagement with all of the required texts. This course is excellent preparation for advanced classes in continental philosophy and, perhaps, for existence... Required Texts: 1). S. Kierkegaard, The Sickness unto Death, A. Hannay, trans. (London and New York: Penguin, 2004); 2). F. Nietzsche, The Portable Nietzsche, W. Kaufmann, trans. (New York: Penguin, 1982); 3) J.-P. Sartre, Being and Nothingness: A Phenomenological Essay on Ontology, H. Barnes, trans. (New York: Citadel Press, 2001); 4). M. Heidegger, What Is Called Thinking? (New York: Harper, 1968), and 5). I. Thomson, Heidegger on Ontotheology: Technology and the Politics of Education (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
|
||||
| 245.001 |
Professional
Ethics |
Paul
Katsafanas |
TR
3:30-4:45 |
DSH
327 |
Examination
of social and ethical problems associated with the business, engineering,
medical and legal professions. Meets New Mexico Lower Division
General Education Common Core Curriculum Area V: Humanities and
Fine Arts.
Top of the Page
|
||||
| 308/508.001 |
Medieval
European Phil |
Robert
Reeves |
MWF
10:00-10:50 |
CAST
51 |
This
is a survey (lecture with room for discussion) of the major thinkers
of the European Middle Ages, from Augustine through the important
Jewish and Muslim philosophers Maimonides, Averroes and Avicenna,
to the high-Medieval work of Bonaventure, Aquinas and Duns Scotus,
ending with late-Medieval writers such as Meister Eckhart and
William of Ockham, with several other figures thrown in. Topics
include the question of free will, the problem of universals,
the essence of the intellect, and of course the existence and
nature of God. Three take-home essay exams will be required. Text:
Hyman & Walsh, Philosophy in the Middle Ages.
|
||||
| 341.009 |
Introduction
to Feminist Theory |
Amy
Brandzel |
TR
12:30-1:45 |
MVH
2131 |
Feminist
theory, at its best, interrogates the relationships between identity,
knowledge and power through the discourses of gender, race, class,
sexuality and nation. This means that feminist theory necessarily
overlaps, if not infringes upon, other bodies of theory, such
as queer theory, critical race theory, and postcolonial theory.
This course attempts to navigate these intersections (or collisions)
by focusing our discussion around a few examples of more specific
issues, such as performativity, subjectification, representation,
culture, citizenship, law, capitalism, globalization, and activism.
Therefore, while this course does not provide feminist, queer,
critical race and postcolonial theories in their totality, it
will provide the tools and the language to continue accessing
these theoretical branches and these scholarly debates in future
coursework and study through a critical, intersectional approach.
Along the way towards examining some of the great variety of theoretical
work, the overall agenda is to create the space for you to build
your own body of feminist-critical race-queer-postcolonial theorizing.
In other words, the goal is for you to not only understand how
different theorists envision the world, but to theorize the world
for yourself and find your own answers and, if all goes well,
new questions.
|
||||
| 343/543.001 |
Contemporary
Continental Philosophy |
Adrian
Johnston |
TR
2:00-3:15 |
DSH
126 |
The
aim of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive
overview of the main figures and movements of twentieth-century
Continental philosophy (i.e., twentieth-century European philosophy
situated primarily in France and Germany). Many of the philosophical
approaches and orientations informing work done in various sectors
of the theoretical humanities today are linked to the Continental
philosophical tradition. A shared tendency generally found throughout
the figures and movements of this tradition is an emphasis on
such factors as history, ideology, language, and sexuality as
overwhelmingly important influences shaping who we are and how
we experience ourselves and the world around us. The course will
begin with Edmund Husserl and end with Jacques Derrida, covering
a wide range of figures in-between. The movements covered include:
phenomenology, existentialism, Marxism, structuralism, post-structuralism,
psychoanalysis, feminist theory, and deconstruction.
|
||||
| 346.001 |
20th
Century Philosophy |
Russell
Goodman |
TR
11:00-12:15 |
HUM
518 |
In
this course we shall consider writings from three main traditions
of twentieth century thought: analytic philosophy, represented
by Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein, continental philosophy,
represented by Jean-Paul Sartre, and pragmatism, represented by
William James, John Dewey, Richard Rorty, and Hilary Putnam. Class
time will be devoted to lectures and discussion on the assigned
readings. Evaluation is based on discussion of the readings, two
in-class examinations, and a final examination during finals week.
Texts: Bertrand Russell, The Problems of Philosophy,
Cosimo. Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Occasions,
Hackett. Jean-Paul Sartre, Basic Writings, Routledge.
Russell Goodman, ed., Pragmatism: A Contemporary Reader,
Routledge.
|
||||
| 350/550.001 |
Philosophy
of Science |
Staff |
Cancelled |
|
This
course is a survey of the main epistemological, ontological and
conceptual issues that arise from or concern the methodology and
content of the empirical sciences.
|
||||
| 352/552.001 |
Theory
of Knowledge |
Barbara
Hannan |
MWF
11:00-11:50 |
DSH
228 |
The
nature of knowledge has been a central preoccupation of Western
philosophy. In this course we will explore the following topics
through classical and contemporary readings: skepticism; perception;
analysis of the concept of knowledge; theories of the structure
of knowledge and justification (foundationalism, coherentism,
etc.); internalism and externalism with regard to justification;
Kant and the a priori; induction; scientific method; the "ethics
of belief"; challenges and alternatives to traditional epistemology.
Required text: Louis P. Pojman, editor, The Theory of Knowledge:
Classical and Contemporary Readings, Third Edition (Wadsworth,
2003), paperback.
|
||||
| 354/554.001 |
Metaphysics |
Staff |
Cancelled |
|
Problems
and theories of metaphysics. Topics may include: investigation
into the structure of things and their properties, identity and
individuation, causation, necessity and possibility, universals,
mind and body, space and time, God, truth and naturalism.
|
||||
| 356/556.001 |
Symbolic
Logic |
Barbara
Hannan |
MWF
1:00-2:10 |
SSCO
1111 |
This
is a standard course in first-order sentential and predicate logic.
We will learn two formal languages, SL (sentential logic) and
PL (predicate logic). We will first master the symbolization and
syntax of SL, as well as the semantic notions of a truth-value
assignment and truth-tables. Characteristic truth-tables defining
the truth-functional connectives for negation, conjunction, disjunction,
material conditional, and material biconditional will be committed
to memory. Truth-table and truth-tree methods of determining truth-functional
entailment, truth-functional validity, and other truth-functional
properties will be introduced in SL. A system of syntactic derivation
rules, SD, will be introduced, and we will learn to do derivations.
We will then move on to PL. After mastering its symbolization
and syntax, we will learn a system of syntactic derivation rules
for predicate logic, PD, and learn to do derivations in predicate
logic. This course will not cover the metatheory of logic in any
extended way, but the notions of soundness and completeness as
they apply to SL and PL will be introduced and explained. Required
text: Bergmann, Moor, and Nelson, The Logic Book, Fourth
Edition (McGraw-Hill, 2004), hardback.
|
||||
| 358/558.001 |
Ethical
Theory |
Brent
Kalar |
MWF
11:00-11:50 |
SARAR
101 |
The
first third of the course will be a survey of meta-ethics, which
is the semantic, metaphysical, and epistemological examination
of ethical notions like goodness, rightness, obligation, virtue,
and so forth. Here we will consider questions such as whether
ethical judgments are relative or nothing more than the expression
of subjective feelings. The last two thirds will be a comprehensive
examination of the three major tendencies in normative ethical
theory, namely, utilitarianism, Kantianism, and virtue ethics/perfectionism.
Here we will consider questions about the actual content of morality
and ethical ideals, such as whether there is a supreme principle
of morality, and, if so, what it says. There will be a midterm,
two papers, and a final exam. Graduate students will write a longer
seminar paper in lieu of the two short papers.
|
||||
| 358/558.002 |
Ethical
Theory |
Paul
Katsafanas |
TR
9:30-10:45 |
M
H 119 |
Inquiry
concerning goodness, rightness, obligation, justice and freedom.
|
||||
| 360.001 |
Christian
Classics |
Andrew
Burgess |
TR
12:30-1:45 |
M
H 117 |
Who
were the great figures that influenced the development of classical
Christian thought? This course will begin to answer that question
using major writings by Origen, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther and
Teresa of Avila. These people serve as landmarks in a survey of
the history of Christian thought through the Classical and Reformation
periods. The focus will be on topics such as scriptural interpretation,
faith and reason, and prayer. The readings include Origen's "On
Prayer," part of his "On First Principles," Augustine's
"Confessions," part of Aquinas' "Summa Theologica,"
some shorter works of Luther and part of his commentary on Galatians,
part of Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion,"
Teresa of Avila's "Way of Perfection" and part of her
"Commentary on the Song of Songs." Prerequisites: One
previous course in Religious Studies or Philosophy. Course requirements
include an in-class report, midterm, final, and term paper.
|
||||
| 363.001 |
Environmental
Ethics |
Lisa
Gerber |
MWF
11:00-11:50 |
HUM
518 |
We
will investigate issues of the human relationship with the environment.
We will be asking questions about aesthetics, rights, virtue,
religion, obligations to the environment, and obligations to future
generations. We will apply our theoretical study to concrete issues
such as human population, pollution, resource use, endangered
species, and wilderness.
|
||||
| 365/565.001 |
Philosophy
of Religion |
Andrew
Burgess |
W
7:00-9:30pm |
HUM
518 |
What
can philosophy prove in the area of religion? How is it possible
for people with different religious backgrounds to communicate
with each other? What difference does an explanation from the
social sciences make to religious faith? These are the kinds of
questions explored in this class, through readings from such philosophers
as Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Kierkegaard, and others.
The format of the course is generally of seminar shape but also
includes lectures, discussions, and debates. Most of the readings
are taken from "Ten Essential Texts in the Philosophy of
Religion: Classical and Contemporary Issues," ed. Steve M.
Cahn, and George Mavrodes's "Belief in God: A Study of the
Epistemology of Religion." Course requirements include a
seminar report, mid-term, final, and paper.
|
||||
371/571.001 |
Classical
Social and Political Philosophy |
Ann
Cacoullos |
T
5:00-7:30 |
HUM
518 |
From
Plato to Hobbes. Prerequisite: 101 or 201.
Top of the Page
|
||||
| 410/510.001 |
Kant |
Mary
Domski |
M
4:00-6:30 |
DSH
136 |
The
1781 publication of the Critique of Pure Reason (commonly
referred to as the First Critique) marks the beginning of Immanuel
Kant’s so-called critical period, a period during which
he was simultaneously responding to Humean skepticism and trying
to accommodate the Newtonian worldview. Before the second edition
of the First Critique appeared in 1787, Kant composed and published
three works that contribute to and help clarify his general critical
project: Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics (1783),
Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), and Metaphysical
Foundations of Natural Science (1786). Our primary goal in
this class is to complete a careful reading of the First Critique
and examine the critical project Kant sets out in this work. In
the course of our examination, we will refer to works published
during 1781 to 1787 to aid our understanding of why Kant chose
to change, add, and delete portions of the first edition Critique
before the second edition appeared in print. We will also appeal
to trends in the history of philosophy and the history of science
to help make sense of Kant’s transcendental idealism.
|
||||
| 438/538.001 |
Buddhist
Philosophy-India |
Richard
Hayes |
TR
9:30-10:45 |
SARAR
107 |
The
Buddha is reported to have said that whoever knows the Buddha's
teachings knows the Buddha, and whoever knows the doctrine of
dependent origination knows the Buddha's teachings. Buddhists
ever since have struggled to come up with a satisfactory theory
of cause and effect. Our task will be to examine several approaches
to causality in the Indian Buddhist scholastic tradition and to
compare them with causal theories in Western philosophy. Beginning
with discussions of dependent origination in the Pali canon, we'll
move on to two abhidharma traditions and to the critique of causality
by the Madhyamikas.
|
||||
| 441/541.002 |
Mysticism
in South Asia |
John
Bussanich |
MW
2:00-3:15 |
HUM
518 |
In
this seminar we will examine a wide range of mystical thought
and experience in South Asia from the first millennium BCE to
the present in Hindu, Buddhist, and Sufi traditions. Beginning
with classical yogic and meditative practice in the Upanisads,
early Buddhist texts, Bhagavad-Gita, and Yoga-sutras, important
themes are the nature of desire and the religious imperatives
for its suppression or fulfillment through meditation, hathayoga
(physical poses), and action and the articulation of paths and
procedures aiming at liberation and enlightenment. In the medieval
period we will trace the rise of devotion (bhakti) in Sanskrit
and vernacular literatures throughout India in readings from the
Bhagavata Purana, Yoga-Vasistha, and Gitagovinda and diverse mystical
poets: Mirabai, Kabir, Jnaneshwar, Nanak, the Alvars, and Tukaram.
Interwoven with bhakti traditions are varieties of Tantric theory
and practice and Goddess-worship. With the entry of Islam into
the subcontinent varieties of Sufi thought and practice add to
the rich tapestry of mystical insight and achievement. Here we
will encounter representative figures in the Indian Sufi order
of Chistis and read Sufi ghazals and biographies of saints. In
the final segment, we will concentrate on the great 19th century
Bengali saint Sri Ramakrishna and critically evaluate the conflicting
interpretations of his life. In various segments, as time permits,
we will sample artistic and musical expressions of our major themes.
Requirements: Students will be expected to write brief papers
on the major readings and a final exam and participate vigorously
in class discussions. Prerequisites: Religious Studies 263 Eastern
Religions or Phil 108 Introduction to Asian Philosophy or Phil
334 Indian Philosophy or Phil 348 Comparative Philosophy or permission
of the instructor.
|
||||
| 441/541.003 |
German
Idealism |
Brent
Kalar |
MW
2:00-3:15 |
M
H 205 |
One
of the deepest and richest movements in the history of philosophy
is German Idealism, the philosophical revolution that took place
in the wake of Kant's epochal "critical philosophy"
between 1781 and approximately 1820. This movement is characterized
by a concern with the possibility of "absolute" or "unconditioned"
knowledge, an obsession with the nature of subjectivity, and a
proclivity for system. Beyond this, however, German Idealism broached
essential questions about the very nature of philosophy itself,
and what form it should take. This course will attempt to provide
an overview of this crucial and complex tapestry of ideas. At
least a sample of each of the main figures in German Idealism
will be studied, including Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel.
For the sake of an illuminating contrast, leading figures in German
Romanticism, such as Friedrich Schlegel, Novalis, Schleiermacher,
and Holderlin may also be discussed. There will be three short
papers for undergraduates, and a longer seminar paper for graduate
students. All students will be required to take a final exam.
|
||||
| 442/542.001 |
Derrida |
Iain
Thomson |
TR
3:30-4:45 |
HUM
518 |
In
this graduate and advanced undergraduate seminar, we will seek
to understand the philosophical significance of Jacques Derrida
(1930-2004), one of the most influential and controversial thinkers
of the late twentieth century. In order to chart a course through
Derrida’s incredibly prolific and extremely difficult body
of work, the seminar will be guided by (and will seek thereby
to test the limits of) the interpretive thesis that Derrida is
best understood as a critical post-Heideggerian thinker. In my
view, Derrida recognized Heidegger as the most important philosopher
of the twentieth century and so sought to critically appropriate
Heidegger’s views. This means that Derrida developed his
own views on the basis of Heidegger’s thought (as he understood
it) and also criticized that thought where (in his view) it failed
to fully develop its own radical implications. (Derrida usually
develops Heidegger’s thought by criticizing it and vice
versa, and we will seek to understand this often confusing intertwinement
of critique and development in terms of the deconstructive methodology
Derrida develops from his reading of Heidegger.) The Derridean
title of the course would be “Derrida on Heidegger,”
where the “on” means not only “on the subject
of” but also “on the basis of.”
After some brief background on Heidegger, we will carefully read
a selection of the many texts written by Derrida on Heidegger,
texts in which Derrida critically appropriates and develops some
of his own core ideas (such as deconstruction, différence,
and writing under erasure) from Heidegger. We will then conclude
by reading several works in which Derrida develops his Heideggerian
(or post-Heideggerian) views beyond Heidegger, extending them
into the domain of questions (for example, how should we understand
the being of the animal? Of politics? Of the
gift?) which Heidegger himself raised but left insufficiently
thought-through and so relatively unexplored. In this way, we
will test the hermeneutic hypothesis that Derridean deconstruction
seeks (following its hyper-Heideggerian logic) to think that which
went “unthought” in the thinking of Heidegger himself.
Course requirements: Derrida is one of the most difficult philosophers
of the twentieth century, so this course should not be your first
exposure to continental philosophy (!). Even students well versed
in continental thought should probably not enroll in this course
unless they are up for the serious challenge of reading his work,
a challenge which will only reward those who can meet it with
a great deal of their own time, energy, and thought. Required
Texts will include: 1). Thomson, Heidegger on Ontotheology:
Technology and the Politics of Education (Cambridge UP, 2005);
2). Derrida, Spurs: Nietzsche’s Styles (U. Chicago,
1981); 3). Derrida, Psyche: Inventions of the Other,
Volume II (Stanford UP 2008); 4), Derrida, Who’s Afraid
of Philosophy: Right to Philosophy I (Stanford UP, 2002);
5). Derrida, On the Name (Stanford UP, 1995); 6). Derrida,
Specters of Marx: The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning,
& the New International (Routledge, 1994); and 7). Derrida,
The Animal That Therefore I Am (Fordham UP: 2008).
|
||||
| 485.001 |
Philosophical
Foundatons of Economic Theory |
Rinita
Mazumdar |
F
1:00-3:30 |
HUM
518 |
In
this course we shall study about the "Philosophy of Economics".
The three main elements of the course will be as follows: (a)
rational choice, (b) the appraisal of economic outcomes, institutions
and processes, and (c) the ontology of economic phenomena and
the possibilities of acquiring knowledge of them. Although these
inquiries overlap in many ways, it is useful to divide philosophy
of economics in this way into three subject matters which can
be regarded respectively as branches of action theory, ethics
(or normative social and political philosophy), and philosophy
of science. Economic theories of rationality, welfare, and social
choice defend substantive philosophical theses often informed
by relevant philosophical literature and of evident interest to
those interested in action theory, philosophical psychology, and
social and political philosophy. Economics is of particular interest
to those interested in epistemology and philosophy of science
both because of its detailed peculiarities and because it possesses
many of the overt features of the natural sciences, while its
object consists of social phenomena.
|
||||
| 520.001 |
Graduate
Proseminar in Philosophy |
John
Bussanich |
TBA |
TBA |
This
course serves as an introduction to graduate study in philosophy
at the University of New Mexico. This includes introduction to
the faculty and their research interests, as well as an opportunity
for scholarly interaction with fellow graduate students.
|
||||
| 535.001 |
Nagarjuna
and Candrakirti |
Richard
Hayes |
TR-Time
to be arranged |
TBA |
Nagarjuna
is arguably the most influential philosopher in Buddhism. His
most influential work, the Madhyamaka-karika, has been translated
several times. We shall read several of the key chapters of that
work in translation, comparing several translations with the original
Sanskrit text. We shall also read as much as possible of Candrakirti's
commentary to the first chapter of Nagarjuna's text in the original
Sanskrit, with the aim of understanding why Candrakirti rejected
the approach of Bhavaviveka, which had been influenced by Dignaga.
Top of the Page
|
||||
| Home | Faculty | Courses | Program | Announcements |
||||